A signed contract does not protect your award — the contracting authority can still withdraw it up to 60 days later
The Council of State dismisses the extreme-urgency appeal of a contractor whose award was withdrawn after the contracting authority discovered that the engineering office had wrongly scored a bid, and confirms that the classical withdrawal doctrine applies — even when the contract has already been signed.
What happened?
IFAPME (the Walloon training institute) tendered an extension to its La Louvière training centre via an open procedure; five bids came in for lot 3 (electricity). On 19 January 2026 the contract was awarded to Thersa and the contract was concluded on 27 January under article 88 of the Public Procurement KB. Three days later, on 30 January, the engineering office reported that it had failed to take into account information from a regular, selected offer for the second award criterion ('Planning, improvement of execution time and methodology to guarantee it') — the affected bidder had erroneously received 0 points. On 5 February IFAPME withdrew the award decision; on 11 February it re-awarded to EGF; on 5 March it withdrew that too; on 9 April it re-awarded to EGF a second time. Thersa argued that withdrawal was impossible because the contract had already been signed, and that the motivation was deficient. The Council of State (6th Chamber) held that the classical withdrawal doctrine allows the authority to withdraw an irregular act creating rights within the 60-day annulment appeal window — provided the act is not yet definitive. Because the award decision is an 'act detachable from the contract', withdrawal is possible notwithstanding contract conclusion. The motivation is sufficient once the withdrawal conditions are met. The Council distinguishes this from article 85 of the 2016 Public Procurement Act (renunciation), which is only available before contract conclusion. The plea is unsuccessful.
Why does this matter?
When you win an award and sign a contract, the battle is not over. The contracting authority retains 60 days after the award decision to withdraw it if it discovers irregularity — the same window during which your competitors can file annulment appeals. A scoring error by a consulting engineer, a missing column in a spreadsheet, an overlooked bidder — anything can trigger a withdrawal. And the 'but we already signed' argument fails: the award decision is legally separate from the contract.
The lesson
When you receive an award and start signing with the authority, remember the award decision is only truly final after the 60-day annulment window. Avoid substantial investments or advances in those first two months that you cannot reverse. Plan startup work and staffing so you are not irreversibly committed before day 61. If the authority comes back with an 'oops, we need to re-analyse', check whether it's a classical withdrawal (possible within 60 days) or article 85 renunciation (no longer possible after contract conclusion).
Ask yourself
In the first 60 days after an award, ask: 'What expenditures and commitments am I making that I cannot reverse if the award is withdrawn?' Anything beyond the bond and minimum start-up cost is legally at risk.
About this database
The Council of State (Raad van State / Conseil d'État) is Belgium's supreme administrative court. In disputes over public procurement — from contract awards to tenderer exclusions — the Council of State is the final arbiter. The rulings in this database are summarised by TenderWolf in plain language, with practical lessons for tenderers and contracting authorities. View all rulings →